Credit cards losing relevance

Five years ago, if a bank wasn’t in the credit cards space, then it was missing something. But does that novelty value hold true now? Unified payment interface or UPI has fast outpaced credit cards (and debit cards) in terms of usage. Customers’ use of a credit card in a year has reduced to just about three times in FY22, down from over around four times in FY18. The credit cards industry outstanding in rupee terms at ₹9.75 lakh crore has increased by 16 per cent roughly CAGR since FY18, while UPI’s growth has been exponential at ₹84 lakh crore market. Banks will soon have to work out alternatives to credit cards to remain relevant in fast expanding online payments space